From the Past into the Future
by alynwa
Summary: For the Great Episode Challenge on LJ. The question: What is the weapons agreement UNCLE has with its member nations? The episode prompt: The Prince of Darkness Affair.


"Gentlemen, gentlemen! One at a time. Please!" Mr. Waverly clenched his unlit pipe tighter as he stood at the podium of the UN General Assembly. The room was more crowded than usual. Along with the normal complement of ambassadors and their assistants, there was a large UNCLE delegation; the Number Ones of Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia along with the Number Ones of Section II and their partners were all seated behind the podium. Section IIIs were scattered around the room to provide extra security for their superiors.

"Mr. Waverly!" the ambassador from the USSR growled into his microphone, "Are we to understand that UNCLE is to maintain control of any and all weaponry it manages to acquire from THRUSH?"

"As we have since UNCLE's inception fifteen years ago. When my colleagues and I formed the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, we met with the leaders of the so – called superpowers and made the argument, with which they agreed, that technology such as THRUSH attempts to develop is just too dangerous to give to any one country or to spread the knowledge amongst them."

The US ambassador chimed in, "That was all well and good fifteen years ago, Sir, but two weeks ago, all regular television programming was interrupted so that we could all be threatened by a madman with an 'earthquake machine!'"

"Well, yes, nasty business, that. But as you know, my agents were successful in destroying it."

"Which is why we were able to tell the American people that it was an elaborate hoax perpetrated by extremely intelligent college students residing 'overseas.' And what about Dr. Killman's notes on the weapon? Were they also destroyed?"

Mr. Waverly turned to the men sitting behind him. "Mr. Kuryakin, would you be so kind as to answer Ambassador Jackson's question?"

Illya flicked a quick glance to his partner before rising. "Of course, Sir," he said as he went to stand beside the Old Man. "All of the doctor's materials, notes included were collected by an UNCLE cleanup team and reviewed by Section VIII. They are now locked away in UNCLE's safekeeping."

"Locked away where?"

"That is classified information, Ambassador Jackson."

Ambassador Nureyev pounded the table in front of him and shouted in Russian, "You forget yourself, Comrade Kuryakin! You are KGB! You are _obligated_ to disclose to the Premier that which he wants to know! I will see you in Siberia!"

When the ambassador began to yell, Napoleon had stood and moved behind Illya and translated as best he could for Mr. Waverly's benefit. He noted that the blond had paled ever so slightly and he placed his hand on Illya's back to steady him. Mr. Waverly returned to the microphone and replied icily, "_Agent _Kuryakin is under no obligation to report to the Premier. While it is true that he came to this organization from the KGB, he is KGB no longer. _That _is the agreement made personally between the Premier and myself. If you wish to challenge the agreement, discuss it with Mr. Khrushchev." He watched in satisfaction as the Russian ambassador backed down off his high horse and quieted. "The world leaders of fifteen years ago were very wise. They realized that if UNCLE were to hand over certain materials to certain countries, the temptation to use such weapons of mass destruction might prove to be too much."

"The USSR and the US were on the brink of war over the Cuban Missile Crisis. Imagine if one or both countries had a weapon like the earthquake machine. There is not a person in this room who could guarantee neither country wouldn't have used it. It is precisely because neither country _had_ it to use that the situation was resolved without military intervention. THRUSH Central hijacking the airwaves to make those threats pulled back the curtain slightly to reveal a world we would rather the average man knew nothing about and though my colleagues and I do appreciate all the tap dancing your governments had to do to convince the masses they were not endangered, that is no reason to revisit the weapons agreement made with the UNCLE. We will not amend the agreement in anyway. If there is nothing else, I and the rest of the UNCLE personnel here will take our leave."

Two hours later, the heads of Sections I and II were sitting in Mr. Waverly's office discussing the outcome of their meeting with the UN General Assembly. "I have to admit, Mr. Waverly," Napoleon Solo opined, "when you declared that we were leaving, I was more than a little concerned about our security. I thought the American ambassador was going to demand that we be detained."

Mr. Magubane, Section I of Africa, laughed aloud and added, "I am sure that option was probably discussed before we even arrived, but no country wishes to be the first to challenge or break ties with the UNCLE. Besides, those in attendance are politicians, not warriors and we in Section I have stressed for years that our agents are even more highly trained than any individual country's intelligence departments."

Mr. Waverly stuck his pipe in his mouth and searched his pockets for matches. Finding none, he removed the pipe and placed it in his ashtray. "Yes, well, be that as it may, today's little contretemps underscores a growing concern of mine: The world is changing and sadly, I think it is marching away from the idea of a multinational law enforcement agency such as ours."

"The politicians of the world are becoming less interested in a global community and more interested in advancing the agendas of their own countries. The reason I wanted the CEAs here is because, theoretically, you will be our successors so you need to hear this: During our last Summit meeting, Section I reached the conclusion that UNCLE will be obsolete in no more than forty years." He waited a few moments as the CEAs gasped in shock before continuing. "That means that those in charge will have very difficult decisions to make regarding what will become of our staff, our facilities and our legacy. We decided that we will remove one burden from the future leaders' shoulders: Each HQ will send three members of Section VIII to our warehouse in Antarctica. Their mission will be to destroy the cache of weaponry kept there." The other Section I Number Ones nodded in agreement at his words. "Mr. Solo, please advise Mr. Kuryakin that I want him to head up the contingent from UNCLE North America."

"Of course, Sir. May I ask, I thought the scientists assigned to that facility were working on ways to modify some of the weapons to benefit mankind? Sort of like beating swords into plowshares, so to speak."

"You are correct, Mr. Solo; however, we've decided that even if successful, the scientists of individual countries might be able to reverse that process and we simply cannot take the chance of that happening. Also, technology is making exploration easier and the possibility of a government discovering the location of our weapons warehouse becomes less remote every day, so once the weapons are destroyed, the building will be dismantled and the site abandoned, as well."

Sir Frederick Pennington, Number One of Australia, said, "In future, each HQ will be responsible for destroying whatever weapons their agents find."

"Ah yes, my partner and I nullified the thermal prism we discovered during 'The Prince of Darkness Affair.'"

"As everyone will be doing from now on. Mr. Solo," Mr. Waverly said, "I've changed my mind. Let's leave the others here to discuss who they will be sending to Antarctica while you and I go inform your partner of his next assignment. Gentlemen, take your time; I will be back soon." He stood and walked out with his Chief Enforcement Agent. As they rode in the elevator he looked at Napoleon and observed, "You've been rather quiet since we left my office. What are you thinking?"

Napoleon sighed and jammed his hands into his pockets. "It's a little disconcerting to hear talk about UNCLE's demise, but I agree with Section I about the arms technology we come across. It is much too dangerous to hand over to individual governments. That agreement must never be amended, no matter what the UN or _anyone_ says."

"It's nice to know you agree with Section I's line of thinking, Mr. Solo. You have five more years' active field duty. I would appreciate it immensely if you didn't get yourself killed so that you can take my seat when I retire and I can be assured of the continuity of my plans."

"I'll try my best, Sir."

**Author's Note: **I'm thinking of expanding this tale. What do you think?


End file.
